Thursday, 11 August 2011

Before I start, I should warn you that there are no pretty pictures in this post. I've been trying to decide whether to show you images of the ugly kitchen. Part of me wants to because I want to do the big 'Ta da' when the new one is installed, but part of me doesn't want to because I really only like to show nice pretty pictures on this site.

So in the end I have decided to just give you a sneaky peak so you get the idea. This is actually just about the best vew I could show you. If I panned round to the left you would be looking at some very yucky cupboards, some hideous panelling popular in fish and chip shops in the 1970s, and our oven covered in a very unattractive blanket supplied by the removal company as we're not able to install it until the kitchen people have provided a gas supply into the kitchen.

If I was to pan round to the right you would see yet more yucky cupboards, the frankly revolting sink and horrid yellow roller blind!

We are counting the days until they start on the work as it is currently the most unappealing place to cook a meal. Here's a close up of the lovely tiles. Can't wait to see the back of these on Monday. I might even volunteer to help Mr Kitchen in smashing them from the wall!

The kitchen we've chosen is cream panelled with a beech work top. Very simple and hopefully a good backdrop for my Cornishware and other pretty bits. I will be making a roman blind for the window in red gingham and I think the walls are going to be pale blue but I will decide on that once the kitchen is in.

I am so excited to be getting my first ever chosen by me brand new kitchen. I had a new kitchen before when I rented in Kew as I was the first tennant after the flat had been renovated, and it was lovely, but it wasn't what I would have chosen. This, however, is my choice. Simon has been the bestest Hubbie and let me have the design I wanted. He prefered a white one but it looked a little dated to me as it had too much in the way of twiddly moulding. The one little choice he did make though is a fancy tap. I think it's a little OTT for our needs and the size of the kitchen but he really wanted it and as I had my way on everything else I had to let him have his one little toy! You'll see what I mean when I show you in a week or two.

So that's the end of the sneaky peak. Hopefully I'll be showing you the finished article by the end of next week. Next time I'll be back here spreading some hydrangea love. See you soon.

Monday, 8 August 2011

We're finally here in our lovely new home. Gosh, it's been a busy few weeks and I can't believe it's been so long since I was last here with you. Unfortunately we've been without internet access which has meant I've had to stay away longer than I'd hoped.

We've been busy trying to make things feel a little homely but my goodness, there is so much to do. I hope to take some photos over the next few days to show you 'the before', so I can then show the changes we make. Probably the worst room is the kitchen and I'm extremely relieved that we are having a new one installed in a couple of weeks. We are counting the days. Not only does it look horrific, but it also smells odd and is totally impractical. But more on that one once I have photos to show you.

Simon has been busy attacking the back garden and we now have double what we thought we had! Shrubs, trees and undergrowth were so overgrown that we had just a narrow strip of grass down the middle. Unfortunately due to a misbehaving camera I didn't take any before photos but I will take some of how it looks now as although it has been cleared of all the jungle it still looks pretty awful as we are now left with a pretty barren space that is ready to be reworked and made beautiful.

Luckily, in terms of decoration, it is neutral throughout and the paintwork is in fairly good condition so there isn't the a desperate need for absolute imediate decorating. We have time to think about any decorative changes we will make. We will of course be painting the kitchen though once the new units are installed.

Little F's room is perhaps the most organised and homely. I need to put up pictures and make some bits and bobs to decorate the walls, but luckily his curtains from our old house fitted perfectly and we have all his furniture in place. I want to paint a couple of bits in there, a bookcase and little chair, but there is no hurry. I'll take some pictures of how it is looking so far.

As well as the work we are doing on our home, we are trying to have some holiday fun as well. We spent the first week of Simon's hols down in Dorset which was absolutely lovely. We had the most perfect weather and it was just what we needed after the madness of the news. Today we had a holiday in a day. Do you ever do that? Sometimes it's possible to go out for a lovely day and feel like you've had a mini holiday. We're very lucky where we are living now in that within a few minutes drive we can be in beautiful countryside. Our drive today took us through beautiful woodlands and country lanes and we ended up in one of our favourite villages that is only a short drive away.

The picture at the top of the post is a view from the lovely village where we enjoyed a delicious pub lunch today. The sweetest windmill sitting on top of a steep hill above a lovely valley. The village and Mill are both well known to anyone who is a fan of 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' or a regular viewer of 'The Vicar of Dibley'. It was so lovely to be there today. The sun was shining and we sat in a pretty garden enjoying the view, then explored the sweet little church. I'll leave you for today with more images from today. I'll be back again soon with house pictures.